I'll See You Everyday II
by likeit
Summary: See Authors Note, Sequel to "I'll See You Everyday" by my other penname mygrl
1. Chapter 1

Don't own it, law and order that is or any of it's spinoffs of characters.

A/N: for those who don't know, my other pen name is **mygrl** but for some reason, I couldn't find my password so had to re-register as **likeit**. Anyway...**this is a sequel to "I'll see you everyday"**. **And yes, unfortunately, you have to read that first. **Again, its' under my other name mygrl. Please bear with me. This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter story but I know where I'm going with it. Would love your reviews. Also, there will be a "shout out" so to speak for Obsessedwithstabler who asked me half jokingly to put something in. It will be there at some point. I promise.

"I'll See You Everyday Part II"

The wind was really whipping up a storm outside. He'd been living here for two and a half years now and he still couldn't get used to the sounds. The fact that he could actually hear the wind around him, see lightning strike from a distance, and wear a t-shirt in mid January. He packed up his things for the day, left his work at the office (another thing he couldn't get used to) and headed out the car. It was dark by the time he pulled into his driveway, glad, once again, that he could finally be alone with his thoughts. He made himself dinner, poured himself a beer, picked up the latest copy of Smithsonian Magazine (old habits die hard) and read until he was tired enough to go to sleep. He washed up, and did what he did every night. Opened his window, breathed in the air, and whispered "goodnight Alex". And he fell asleep thinking of her. As always.

/

She felt her eyelids closing. What time was it? 1AM? She sighed and glanced around the bull pen. Just a few detectives, here and there, a rookie trying hard to impress the Captain, even though he had long gone for the night...Jeffries, trying hard to finish up his last report before his vacation, and a few others doing whatever they normally did. She looked down at her latest case, almost solved, and she did most of it herself. She thought about that with pride, her ability to work on her own. She never wanted another partner. No one could ever be like him anyway, or come close. Ross was kind about it. The fact that she and Ross were the only ones who knew the truth...knew he really wasn't dead, kind of made a bond between them. The irony was not lost on her. Of all the people to bond with over the past few years, it was Ross. Ross who never had much patience for Bobby. Ross who couldn't understand Bobby's way of thinking, his way of solving. Yet, it was Ross who really supported her through the past few years, especially the first few months. Even now, every once in while, when she needed to hear Bobby's voice, she would sneak into the evidence room, pull out a tape of one of his interrogations, and just watch him. Once, after one especially trying case, she found herself late one night watching a tape of Bobby back in the early days. The "Deakins" days as she and Bobby referred to them. So, there she was, watching the tape and Ross walked in. He didn't say anything, just stood behind her watching. After a few minutes, she began sobbing, and found herself being comforted by her boss. He just held her as she cried. After she had stopped, he asked about that specific interrogation, and the next thing she knew, hours flew by as she regaled him with stories about Bobby's antics, Carver's frustration and just general information about Bobby and her and the "Deakins" days. She had never heard Ross laugh that much and when she left, she felt better, as if Ross had finally come to a better understanding of Goren.

It was Ross who convinced her to take the trips Bobby had asked her to in his letter. He gave her three month sabatical and cleared everything with the brass. Both she and Ross were well aware of the immensity of the secret they shared and neither had questioned the other's ability to keep it.

Every night, when she got home, the first thing she did was slip on the ring. It didn't matter that she was going to sleep, that in 8 hours she would have to slip it off again. She wore it to sleep and that was enough. On weekends, she would wear it all day and night. Her sister had once gently chided her "Why do you keep wearing your dead partners' mother's ring? I mean, I know you loved him, he loved you. But Alex..." She brushed off the remark, all the remarks that her family would make. They could never understand. Her one regret in life was that they had never acted on their feelings. She belonged to Bobby Goren heart and soul, almost from the beginning.

When the first year anniversary of his "death" had come, Alex spent the day with Lewis. She kept up her friendship with him and they both felt somehow connected to Bobby when they were together. As Bobby had requested in his letter, she sold his apartment but instead of giving Lewis some of the profit, she gave him the whole thing. Lewis fought her on it, but in the end, she won out. She was Bobby's beneficiary from everything else, including his army pension, and when it all played out, she was well taken care of. It was funny really. The pension she received from Joe was put away, saved for the future. But Bobby's money allowed her to live a little better than she had before. He had urged her to travel, and she had used his money for that. But she also did one other thing with his money, and she only hoped that he would have approved.

After Bobby was gone for about six months, she walked into a store in Brooklyn and walking out was Bobby's nephew Donny. He didn't see her. But she followed him. She followed him all the way to some seedy part of town where she witnessed him giving bottled water and a bagel to someone. Upon closer look, she saw it was Frank. Her mood darkened at the thought of all Frank and Donny had put Bobby through, and she was about to lash out when she heard what Frank was saying. He was clearly disoriented (drugs? Sick?) And Donny was comforting him;

"Dad, dad, c'mon, drink a little"

"Did you find him?"

"Dad.."

"Where's my brother? Donny, find my brother, tell him I need him"

Donny looked up towards the sky and then back at his father.

"He's dead. Remember. He was killed. We were there..at the memorial service. In the back"

"No, I don't remember. You're wrong... Find him...please...find my little brother."

She knew what she had to do. She approached Donny, who was scared at first, that she would turn him in. After much coaxing, she explained that Bobby had left her money, and while she wasn't offering any _money_ per say to Frank, she would get him the help he needed, to get clean. She managed to convince Frank to go into rehab, and also got Donny a suspended sentence with time served. She hadn't spoken to either of them in about four months or so, but so far, for the past year, Frank was living a clean life and Donny was working janitorial at NYU in exchange for attending classes. She felt that it was the right thing, especially with Donny and that Bobby would have been happy about it.

But the constant ache in her heart was always there. It never went away, and never really lessened. She felt like a widow all over again, and in moments of pure honesty with herself, she realized that she missed Bobby more than she ever missed Joe. To her, Joe was a memory of a time when she was young and carefree and in love. They never had to weather the hard stuff and she wondered sometimes, had Joe lived, if they would have grown apart...been pulled apart by the realities of life. It struck Alex that she and Bobby prevailed _despite_ the hard times, the times when life threw unmitigated shit at them. In the end, it was the realities of life that had made their partnership and their relationship stronger. Oh, she knew looking back she had probably been in love with him for a long time, but she was jaded, and so was he. To admit that kind of thing out loud was too much for them. So now she said it to him every night. And remembered his letter "_somewhere, you and I are breathing the same air on the same earth"._ And that gave her some level of comfort. What she could not accept, could not grasp, was that he was out there, somewhere, and would never see him again.

A/N: Please bear with me. There will be other chapters to this, my first attempt at a multi-chapter story. Reviews anyone?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

His job was decent. Paid well enough. But was as far from detective work as you could get. People who knew him in this life...knew him as James McCann would never have guessed in a million years that he had ever been a criminal profiler. But that was the way it was supposed to be. Witness Protection makes sure that you are set up somewhere far away, with a new name, a new life, new bank account, new job. You were never given a job that required the skills you had used in your previous life. But he was lucky. They set him up in a suburban area of southern Texas where he was in charge of the three public libraries in two counties. It wasn't a huge job. He wasn't a librarian. He didn't need to travel to big cities and he didn't come across a lot of new people. He was in an office, with a window, and an assistant. He worked with others in the literary and community based organizations to make sure that all programs were working appropriately, that all public funds and taxes were being allocated for appropriate use. He laughed thinking about all the time he spent at the Public Library back home. _Home_. He had a house here, some peripheral friends, but no home. Home was where she was. He sighed. Looked over a recent expense requisition and called his assistant in.

"Rose"

"Yes James? ...Oh wait...before you tell me what you need, here are the revised numbers for PL-2." She handed him the paper. He laughed.

"Rose, how in the world would you know that's what I was going to ask you for?" He stared at her wistfully for a second.

"What?" She smiled and looked behind her for a second. Then she looked back. "What?" she smirked.

"Nothing" he waved his hand "just...sometimes you remind me of someone who could always read my mind...that's all."

She laughed. "Who is this mystery person James?" "Is she the reason you won't go out with my niece?"

He laughed again. Rose was really very sweet. And very smart. Sixty-one years old and didn't act a day over Fifty. Married, kids, grandkids and loved her job. She was good at what she did, she didn't pry into his life _too much_ except when she tried to set him up with her niece. For all he knew, Rose may have thought he was gay. But she wouldn't care anyway. She liked working for him and respected his privacy. He knew she worried sometimes about his lack of a social life. He told her once the story that had been made up for him. His parents were gone. He was an only child. He was never married. But he had added, on his own, that there had once been someone very special in his life and that he would never get over this person. He never said more, and she didn't ask. He spent the past two Thanksgiving and Christmases with Rose and her family. Her husband was a nice man who had been a local high school math teacher for forty years before he retired. He welcomed "James" into his home along with his wife and their kids and grandchildren. James stayed for dinner, but always left before dessert. He liked to be alone with his thoughts on those holidays. He thought about his Mother, sometimes his brother, and occasionally his nephew. But mostly he thought about her. He took out the pictures of her he had received from the agent over the years, run his hands over them, and try to squash down the ever present ache he felt without her. He wondered about her life, and her nephew, who would be over seven by now. He worried about her every time the news from New York was on. He googled her from one of the libraries, nothing that could be traced and always erased his steps, but nothing recent ever came up. A picture of her from his memorial service, sometimes a mention of her in regards to a case, but nothing more than a line or two, and nothing substantial. At first, memories would sustain him through his lonely days. Now, it was beginning to seem like memories would not be enough.

/

Her nephew was going to be eight in a month. Eight. Where had the time gone? Her nephew was five and a half when "Uncle Bobby" was killed. Like the rest of her family her nephew mourned with her and stood by her side at the memorial service". They didn't know the secret of course. And, since she was never going to see Bobby again anyway, she really wasn't pretending when she fell apart at his memorial service. It was only then that her family realized the depth of her feelings towards her partner. And it was only after that, when Alex was the recipient of his insurance, his pension and his mother's ring that they realized the depth of _his_ feeling for her. And there was nothing they could say or do to comfort her. It was really like she was widowed again. Everyone else thought she was mourning the loss of her _partner, her friend._ To this day she wasn't even sure that Ross understood how much more his two detectives were to each other.

She was preparing to go see her nephew when her cell rang.

"Eames"

"Eames. We need you. Here at 1PP. There's been a threat against your latest witness."

"OK. I'll be there within the hour." She hung up. That was the bad thing about not having a true partner. No one to cover for her, no one to share the burden with. She sighed. Called her sister to cancel, and left the house.

Arriving forty-five minutes later at 1PP she got out on the eleventh floor and caught Ross's eye as he tried to calm down her witness. She heard a noise and turned around and saw a flash through the elevator door and then, everything went black. And she was knocked to ground unconscious.

A/N: More to come. Have to build it up a little first.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The chaos and commotion that surrounded the building could only be described as just that. Chaos. Commotion. How many officers dead? How many injured? The news could not break fast enough for him. One PP in ruins. A bomb. What floor? Did it matter? What time was it there? 7PM when the bomb went off? What day was it? Saturday? Could she have been there? Of course she could have. What could he do? Who could he call? Oh.My.God. He could not just sit where he was and do nothing. Was she alive? Hurt? Buried under rubble? He began to pace, back and forth, kept rubbing his hands along the back of his neck. Stared at the phone. He had to know. He picked up the phone.

/

Ross could not believe it. He was injured, for sure, a few broken ribs, some lacerations in his legs on his face, but, at least he was alive, and there would be no lasting physical scars. The emotional ones would stay with him forever.

After the initial 24 hours, when they released him, he managed to somehow make his way over to the temporary headquarters where the Chief was. He pushed, and yelled his way through the sea of officers, and brass, to a table where each chief was being handed a list of the status of the officers and detectives who worked under them.

"Danny" The Chief came over to him "what were you doing there on a Saturday?" Before Ross could answer the Chief handed him a list. "Could'a been a lot Worse Danny. Your list is small compared to others. Cragen lost a bunch of weekend shift detectives. You're lucky." With that he thrust the list into Ross's hands and walked back into the crowd. Ross shook his head and muttered under his breath "asshole". Even one dead officer was too much, and didn't suppose the families of those who died would consider themselves lucky. He made his way over to a table and sat down and read the list. Dead: Gonzalez, Sebastian, and the rookie, Smyth. Missing: Samuelson, Tapperman ; Critically Injured: Wisman, Henries, Eames. He took the list, walked as quickly as he could to his car, took out his cell phone, and began calling all the families, those who lost people first. After that, he made his way over to the hospital. After checking on Wiseman and Henries he made his way over to Eames's room. Her family, of course was hovering over her and he quietly slipped into the room.

"Captain Ross". John Eames gravely shook his hand

"Mr. Eames. Mrs. Eames. How...how is she?"

"Still unconscious. Punctured lung, four broken ribs, broken ankle, broken wrist, internal bleeding."

Ross didn't know what to say so John Eames continued

"They just don't know. They don't know when she'll wake up, and they don't know what kind of head injuries she received." Ross nodded and put his hand on Mrs. Eames's back.

"If you need anything...anything at all, please call. Here's my cell and my home number. I'll be back in the morning." He nodded at the rest of the family and made to leave.

"Captain" John Eames called after him "How are the rest...the others?" Ross sighed.

"Right now, Wiseman is coming out of surgery, they expect a full recovery. With Henries, it'll be a long haul, he may never walk again. But he's alive. A few others...well..." his voice trailed off. John Eames nodded and turned back to his daughter. Ross left without another word.

A/N: Bear with me please! We're getting there. More Angst anyone?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Absolutely not. No way." The mans voice was steady and stern. Bobby sighed into the phone, his voice raising with each and every word.

"You don't understand...I've **got** to go there...I've got to see her." He was nearly shouting

"You knew the risks, you know the deal. You can't go back. Ever. Not unless the threat is eliminated, and, it hasn't been". He was unwavering. When Bobby didn't respond the man sighed. "Look, she's alive. That should hold you over. I will try and I repeat..try to get you more information as it becomes available. That's the best I can do. The bargain ends here. I'll be in touch." And he hung up.

Bobby continued to wear out the floor boards. He hasn't slept in over 24 hours he realized. He knew the Agent was right...and just doing his job. Bobby went to lay down but tossed and turned. He replayed the conversation with the agent over and over. "I'll try to get you more information...the best I can do." Well, Bobby thought, that's not good enough. He picked up the phone again and began to dial.

/

His cell phone hadn't stopped ringing for two days now. He was agitated, worried, and still in a fair amount of pain himself. He had spent the past two days in the hospital with his injured detectives and their families..at the wakes and funerals of some others...held vigil with those families who had missing detectives. He sighed and looked down and the phone's caller ID. A number he didn't recognize came up.

"Ross." He answered. He was greeted by silence. His patience wore thin. "This is Captain Danny Ross. Hello?"

"C..Captain" he managed to stammer out.

Ross put his ear closer to the phone. He knew that voice...

"Captain. Do you know who this is? And if you do, please...please pretend you don't...and just listen."

"Yes, but I don't think I can help you."

"You can. First tell me. Is she bad?"

"Yes."

"Unconscious?"

"Yes"

"Will she live?" He barely managed to get those words out.

Ross didn't answer.

"I'm flying in tomorrow night. My plane gets in at 11PM. I want to see her. Please..you have to help me. I just need a few hours. Then I'll be gone again. You are my last chance."

Ross couldn't believe he was about to do this. But still, the words fell out of his mouth. "OK...but you need to call the hospital directly. Visiting hours are no different for the victims of the bomb here. Hours are from 8-9PM. After that it's pretty quiet. There are absolutely no visitors from 11PM-4AM". Even though he was fairly certain nobody was listening to the conversation, he paused for effect. "Somewhere to eat while you wait? Well there is a little coffee shop across the street. They have a great midnight special. I hope I've helped you." And with that he hung up. He hoped Goren understood his code. How the hell was he going to sneak Goren in and out without anyone seeing him. He couldn't help but smirk a little. Even after almost three years, it was still Goren who was causing him trouble. He shook his head and allowed himself a chuckle.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The plane landed exactly on time. He had thought about disguising himself for the flight, but didn't really believe that anyone would recognize him. But, when they landed, he put on a baseball cap and looked down the whole time he walked. He had let his beard grow over the past few days (ever since he heard about what happened to be exact) but that was about all he changed. The risk was a calculated one, he knew. The agent had no idea he had left Texas, and since he only planned on actually being in New York for about 12 hours, nobody had to know. He left a message for Rose, saying he was taking a sick day, and other than her calling to see how he was, he know nobody would call. As he disembarked from the plane, he couldn't help but breathe in the New York air. There was nothing like it. Smoky...and just, well New York. He missed it.

He caught a cab to the diner Ross had mentioned, getting there almost at midnight. He was pretty sure that was the point of Ross's code. That Ross was somehow going to sneak Bobby in between midnight and 4AM, when there were no visitors, and a reduced staff. He only hoped Ross had a plan, and could pull it off.

/

Ross sat in the booth and watched the door. He fingered the manilla envelope in his hands. In it was an old badge and security clip, with a blurry picture that _may_ be passable if the hospital security guard didn't look too close. In the few hours he had to think about it, he figured that Goren's best shot was to go in as a detective, making "rounds" to be sure that nobody was after the injured detectives still in the hospital. It was a gamble. The NYPD believed they had the bomber in custody already, that no one was in real danger anymore. Still, that information had not been released yet, so it may be plausible that the NYPD Chief would send a detective around to check the safety and well being of the other detectives. He rubbed his hands over his face. When he looked up, Goren was coming through the door.

/

"Goren." Ross stuck out his hand

Bobby smiled, a genuine smile for a minute and took the captains hand. "I haven't heard that name in almost three years...it sounds good".

"What name are you going by now?" Ross asked

"Cap..Captain. I think you're better off not knowing. Please...please don't take that as disrespect, I just know for your sake,...for safety...I shouldn't tell you".

Ross sighed. "Of course. I understand. I never got a chance to say goodbye to you. To thank you for all your hard work. For being one of my best detectives...I never thought I would...but I miss you being around. The squad misses you too".

"I heard my memorial service was quite a scene. Even the Chief showed up?" Bobby laughed.

Ross shook his head and laughed at the memory. "You know, I thought Eames was gonna shoot the sonofabitch in the leg when he entered the church. I think Jeffries even patted her down before she entered".

The mention of Eames made them both realize why they were here. They were silent for a minute and then Bobby spoke.

"How bad?"

"Well...she's still unconscious...broken ribs, ankle, wrist, punctured lung and some internal bleeding which they managed to get under control".

Bobby took it all in for minute. He took a deep breath. "Head injury?"

"We don't know. Won't know until she wakes up."

They sat for minute. Ross looked at his watch. Looked across at the hospital entrance and back at Bobby. "Ready?"

"What's the plan?"

Bobby nodded along as Ross explained how this would unwind. When he was done, he handed Bobby the badge and security pass and stood to go with him.

"You can't go in with me sir." Bobby stated

"Goren, it will add more credibility if I go with you."

"You could lose _your _badge. I don't want to cause you anymore trouble".

"Since when?" Ross smiled and put his hand on Bobby' arm. "Let's go."

A/N: Anyone waiting to see if it works? Will he get stopped? (Of course) Will he get in (Of course). Stay tuned.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They walked through the automatic hospital doors, hearing the slight swish of them close behind them. It was that quiet. An occasional page for a doctor or nurse over the speaker, but other than that, the lack of visitors and diminished night staff proved that 1AM was indeed the perfect time to "slip in" if there ever was.

Bobby continued to look down as they walked, the badge Ross had given him hung around his neck and the security tag was clipped to his pants pocket. The security guard loomed ahead and Bobby felt his pulse quicken. What if they didn't get past him? What if someone found out who he _really _was? More importantly, did he care right at this moment? He decided not, as he could never live the rest of his life, as _anyone_ if he didn't get to see her for himself. As expected, the guard stopped them.

"Sorry, visiting hours do not begin again until tomorrow, 8AM."

Ross cleared his throat, and looked over at the guard's name badge "I'm Captain Danny Ross, NYPD, Major Case, Mr..uh...Wilson" He placed a hand on Bobby's arm and continued "This is Detective Brett Felison. Detective Felison has been sent by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau to check up on the safety of the current detectives you have here...as a result of the explosion."

The guard squinted up at Ross and then Bobby. "Nobody said anything about any detectives coming in. You're not on my list." He shook his head. "Sorry. No one gets in without being on the list".

Ross continued evenly, "Listen. I get it, right? You could get in a lot of trouble if you let us in, right?" The guard nodded for Ross to continue. "Let me ask you - do you really think I want to be here at 1AM escorting a detective who was sent by _my _boss just to check on the safety of my people?"

The security guard seemed to mull this question over but suddenly had a thought;

"Nobody is here that would be of any threat. I assure you. I know how to do my job." He indicated to his small handgun holstered to his pants. Bobby tried not laugh.

Ross put his hands up in front of him as a conciliatory gesture. "I'm _sure_ you're right. The Chief is being a hardass on this one though. You know anyone like that?" The guard smirked

"Anyway...if you don't let me in with Detective Felison, I'm gonna have to go back and tell the Chief. And there will be a whole inquiry. People will be questioned - hospital staff, your boss..it'll be a mess. Let's just avoid any further complications. Let Detective Felison in, let him see for himself that everything is fine, he can report back that you are..infact...doing a great job, making sure no one gets in".

The guard seemed to ponder this for a minute. It felt like eternity before he finally motioned to the visitor book - "Just initial here..detective...uh...Felison...Captain."

Ross cleared his throat again. "Good man". And they signed in.

Once they were safely by the elevators, Ross turned to Bobby. "This is where I say goodbye...detective. Room 454."

"Thank you Captain. For...everything." And he turned into the elevators.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

He stood in front of her room for a second. Took a deep breath and opened the door. His heart nearly stopped at the sight of her. For just a moment he didn't see the machines and IV's. All he saw was her. She was beautiful. He pulled a chair over to the side of her bed and moved his hand above her hair. But he didn't touch her at first. His hand moved tentatively next to her face, hovering above it, but not sure what to touch first. He wanted to touch every part of her face at once. He finally ran a long finger down her cheekbones and back up. He smoothed the hair back from her forehead and noticed where the bottom of it touched the pillow. It was longer, and darker than he had ever seen it before. Her face bore a few minor bruises, but he barely noticed. He moved his hand over hers and stroked his thumb over her good wrist. He did all this before he even said a word. He felt his eyes well up and he wondered all at once how he could have ever left her and how could he leave her again. He took a deep breath and whispered.

"Alex"

She didn't move, and he continued to rub her hand. "Alex, I'm here. Can you hear me? Open your eyes."

Still, she didn't move. Thirty minutes must have passed before he spoke again.When he finally found his voice again, he moved his lips next to her ear and whispered. He whispered all the things he ever wanted to tell her, all the things he told her in his letter, all the things he knew he would never get to tell her. He watched her and waited. Waited for her to move. Waited for her to open her eyes. But she didn't. Bobby kept checking his watch. The hours were ticking by and he knew their precious time together had to come to an end. His face was damp from his tears as he leaned down to say goodbye. He whispered his love one more time, tried to sear the image of her face in his mind and got up to leave. When he reached the door he turned back and said "Wake up Alex. Wake up." One last glance, and he was gone.

/

8AM the next day found Ross in Alex's room. He didn't know why he felt the need to see her first thing in the morning, he just felt that he had to. When he got there, all signs of Goren were gone and Alex was just as she had been before. He stood beside her bed for a minute and as he turned to leave, she started to blink. Upon opening her eyes, she found her captain standing beside her bed.

"Eames..welcome back..let me get a doctor" He again turned around but she managed to choke out in a hoarse voice

"W..wa.wait." She turned her head to look at him. "He was here, wasn't he?"

Ross looked into her eyes for a minute and simply nodded.

She nodded back turned her head away from him and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

Then she flatlined.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

For the fourth time in as many days, Ross stared over at the cleared desk of Alex Eames. Everything was gone, no sign that she had ever been there before. No indication of the 11 years she had spent at her desk. He had gotten used to Goren's empty desk, years ago (although if he were honest with himself, that took time as well). He shook his head and muttered to himself, "damn shame". Two weeks ago, at her memorial service, the Chief came up to him and said, "Well, Danny, maybe it's better off. You said so yourself, She never go over the loss of Goren". And then he added, unnecessarily, "...could never understand that myself. Why she stayed him for so long...the guy was a whack job." Ross had stared at him for a minute and then said

"You know Chief. You're a real asshole". And walked away.

/

He had found out about her death on the internet. The agent had never called him back, despite Bobby's many attempts to find out about her status. He had googled her again and found her obituary. Pictures of her family...her nephew, and that sent him over the edge. He had cried every night since. The nights were the hardest. He would stay up all night, wondering, what if he had said to hell with going into the program? Would he have been there to protect her? Would they have been together that night? Would they have died together? He would have preferred that. Over these past years he had held out hope, that one day he could go back, and resume his life there, with her, together. Now that was no longer an option, and he realized this new life was it for him. He didn't want to go back. Ever. Robert Goren _had_ died with her. He wanted no part of that life, without her.

/

The Rain and thunder was relentless. The night sky was made even darker by the storm that loomed over them. His drive home was slow, he could barely see in front of him. The lightning struck often and fast in the distance, providing the only light he really had that night.

He pulled into his driveway and noticed something at his door. No, make that someone. He got out of the car slowly, the rain drenching him. He walked a little closer and stood still. He forgot how to breathe.

She saw him pull in and squinted, but the rain was so fierce, she couldn't really see him. She walked off the dry porch and onto his gravel path but stopped halfway when she saw him stop. She took a deep breath.

At the same time, they quickened their pace until they were face to face, in the middle of a rain storm.

He put out his hand to touch her, but pulled back quickly, as if he had been burned.

She reached over, grabbed his hand and smoothed it down her own face.

"Bobby."

"I don't...are you...real...are you...how"

"Shh." She put a finger over his lips. Placed her hands into his hair, even as the rain was coming down and pulled his lips to hers. The kiss was the most passionate one either of them had ever experienced. They didn't want to break apart. Finally, he found the words.

"Your family..." he stammered

"Know." She replied. "They won't tell. It'll be ok."

He was crying now, as was she, but neither could tell as the rain dripped down their faces.

"I love you Bobby...James" "I belong with you."

He smoothed her hair back out of her face shaking his head with a look of awe

"I love you Eames".

"Beth."

"What?"

"Beth..that's my name now"

"You'll always be Eames to me" He said

She laughed. "I don't know where to begin, how do I start my new life?"

The rain continued to soak them and he softly replied "I don't know either. _My_ life began five minutes ago. When I saw you."

They continued to kiss in the rain for hours, and when the rain finally stopped, they went inside. Together.

-End-


End file.
